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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Close vs lemlist

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

Close

4.1

From $9/user/mo

lemlist

3.7

From From $69/mo

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.

Pick it if: Founders, agencies and sales reps who reach prospects on email and LinkedIn and want each message to feel personal.

Overview

AttributeCloselemlist
In one lineSales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads.Personalised cold outreach by email, LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp in one sequence.
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starting price$9/user/moFrom $69/mo
Free plan No No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeCloselemlist
Overall rating4.1Winner3.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeCloselemlist
Access & platform
Free plan No No
Mobile app Yes No
Desktop app Yes–
Browser extension No Yes
API access Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO No Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes–
Understands images––
Makes images No–
Makes video No No
Writes code No No
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No–
Works in many languages No Yes
Capabilities score7/ 177/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeCloselemlist
Plans

Solo

$9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly

One person selling on their own.

Email

From $69/mo, or $55/mo billed yearly

Teams doing email-only outreach.

Essentials

$35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly

Small teams sharing leads.

MultichannelOur pick

$109/user/mo, or $87/user/mo billed yearly

Reps who reach prospects on LinkedIn and by phone too.

GrowthOur pick

$99/user/mo billed yearly, or $109 monthly

Teams that want follow-ups and AI on autopilot.

Enterprise

Custom

Larger teams with security and compliance needs.

Scale

$139/user/mo billed yearly, or $149 monthly

High-volume calling teams.

Which plan to pickTake the 14-day trial, which needs no card. Solo is a bargain if you sell alone and follow up by hand. Growth is where Close earns its price, because that's where automated follow-ups, the power dialer and Chloe in workflows start. Budget a little extra each month for call minutes.If you only send email, the Email plan is fine, but compare it with Instantly first. Pick Multichannel if LinkedIn or calls are part of how you sell, since that's what lemlist does best. Add the data add-on ($16 a month billed yearly for 2,000 credits) if you need to find emails and phone numbers. The 14-day trial includes Multichannel features and 200 credits.

Key features

AttributeCloselemlist
Standout features
  • Built-in calling and texting
  • Chloe AI agent
  • Power and predictive dialers
  • Email and text sequences
  • Two-way email sync
  • AI summaries
  • Multichannel sequences
  • Personalisation
  • lemAgent
  • Lead database
  • Deliverability
  • MCP server and CLI

Pros and cons

AttributeCloselemlist
Pros
  • Calling, texting and email built in, with everything logged
  • Solo plan is one of the cheapest proper CRMs around
  • Chloe can call and qualify leads without hiring a rep
  • Fast to learn compared with Salesforce or HubSpot
  • Official MCP connector for Claude
  • Email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS and WhatsApp in one sequence
  • Strong personalisation, including custom images
  • Warm-up and deliverability tools included
  • lemAgent can build a campaign for you
  • Own MCP server and CLI for connecting AI tools
Cons
  • Calls and texts are billed on top of the plan
  • Automations and the power dialer need Growth, which is a big jump from Essentials
  • Chloe launched for US and Canadian numbers in English only
  • Less suited to marketing or businesses that rarely pick up the phone
  • Overlaps Instantly, which is usually cheaper for email only
  • Multichannel is priced per user, so costs climb as the team grows
  • Contact data and buying signals cost extra
  • LinkedIn automation can get your LinkedIn account restricted
  • No mobile app, and reviews mention a learning curve and integration bugs

Who each one is for

AttributeCloselemlist
Best for
  • Calling and texting leads straight from the CRM
  • Following up leads automatically by email and text
  • Having AI call and qualify new leads
  • Small inside sales teams and solo sellers
  • Sequences that mix email, LinkedIn and calls
  • Personalised cold email with custom images and first lines
  • Finding leads and their emails in the same tool
  • Having AI build an outreach campaign from a chat
You'll find it used by
  • Small sales teams
  • Solo founders
  • Agencies
  • Inside sales reps
  • Founders
  • Sales reps
  • Agencies
  • Recruiters
  • Freelancers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Close or lemlist?

Close scores highest overall in our ratings (Close 4.1/5 and lemlist 3.7/5). Close is best for calling and texting leads straight from the CRM and following up leads automatically by email and text. lemlist is best for sequences that mix email, LinkedIn and calls and personalised cold email with custom images and first lines.

Which is cheaper, Close or lemlist?

Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. lemlist: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $69/mo.

Which is easier to use, Close or lemlist?

Close rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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